List of New York Yankees captains
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There have been 16 captains of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, an American professional baseball franchise also known previously as the New York Highlanders. The role is held by Aaron Judge, who was named the captain on December 21, 2022.[1]
In baseball, the captain formerly served as the on-field leader of the team, while the manager operated the team from the dugout. In the early 20th century, MLB teams were required to name an on-field captain, who was responsible for making pitching changes, positioning fielders, and talking with umpires. Managers were restricted to working with the players in the dugout. By the mid-1910s, managers took on the roles previously assigned to the captain, and the captain role became ceremonial.[1]
Clark Griffith was captained the team from their inaugural season in 1903 through 1905. Kid Elberfeld was captain from 1906 to 1907, and was followed by Willie Keeler from 1908 to 1909. Hal Chase served in the role from 1910 through 1912. Frank Chance began the 1913 season as captain. When the team traded for Rollie Zeider, he succeeded Chance in the role. Roger Peckinpaugh served as captain from 1914 through 1922, until he was traded to the Boston Red Sox.[2] He was succeeded by Babe Ruth,[2] who was quickly deposed as captain for climbing into the stands to confront a heckler.[3] Lou Gehrig was named captain in 1935, serving for the remainder of his career. After the death of Gehrig, then manager Joe McCarthy declared that the Yankees would never have another captain.[4]
The role remained vacant until team owner George Steinbrenner named Thurman Munson as captain in 1976.[5] Following Munson's death, Graig Nettles served as captain. Willie Randolph and Ron Guidry were named co-captains in 1986. Don Mattingly followed them as captain in 1991, serving until his retirement in 1995. Derek Jeter was named captain of the Yankees in 2003,[6] and he held the post until he retired in 2014. Gehrig, Munson, Guidry, Mattingly and Jeter are the only team captains who spent their entire career with the Yankees (Aaron Judge has spent his entire career with the Yankees, but is still active). Jeter is the longest-tenured captain in franchise history.[7]
When the Yankees named Jeter captain in 2003, the team recognized him as their 11th captain,[8] rather than their 15th. Howard W. Rosenberg, a baseball historian, found that the official count of Yankees captains failed to include Griffith, Elberfeld, an Chance.[9][10] In addition, right after The New York Times reported Rosenberg's research in 2007, Society for American Baseball Research member Clifford Blau found that Keeler was a team captain, research that Rosenberg confirmed.[9] Though some newspaper articles referred to Everett Scott as captain from 1922 to 1925, the Yankees recognize him as an "acting captain" during the 1922 and 1923 World Series and do not include him on their list.[1]
Captains
| Years active | Years of the captain's playing career |
|---|---|
| Tenure | Tenure as captain |
† |
Elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame |
‡ |
Denotes a co-captain |
| Player | Position | Years active | Tenure | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clark Griffith† | Pitcher | 1891–1914 | 1903–1905 | [9] |
| Kid Elberfeld | Shortstop | 1898–1914 | 1906–1907 | [9] |
| Willie Keeler† | Outfielder | 1892–1910 | 1908–1909 | [11] |
| Hal Chase | First baseman | 1905–1919 | 1910–1912 | [12] |
| Frank Chance† | First baseman | 1898–1914 | 1913 | [9] |
| Rollie Zeider | Shortstop | 1910–1918 | 1913 | |
| Roger Peckinpaugh | Shortstop | 1910–1927 | 1914–1921 | [13] |
| Babe Ruth† | Outfielder | 1914–1935 | 1922 | [2][3] |
| Lou Gehrig† | First baseman | 1923–1939 | 1935–1939 | [14] |
| Thurman Munson | Catcher | 1969–1979 | 1976–1979 | [5] |
| Graig Nettles | Third baseman | 1967–1988 | 1982–1984 | [15] |
| Willie Randolph‡ | Second baseman | 1975–1992 | 1986–1988 | [16] |
| Ron Guidry‡ | Pitcher | 1975–1988 | 1986–1988 | [16] |
| Don Mattingly | First baseman | 1982–1995 | 1991–1995 | [17] |
| Derek Jeter† | Shortstop | 1995–2014 | 2003–2014 | [6] |
| Aaron Judge | Outfielder | 2016–present | 2023–present | [18] |
